Graham: Immigration reform accord at hand

3/31/13 9:16 AM EDT

Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Sunday that senators have agreed to a conceptual deal on immigration reform, signed off by business, labor and the Gang of Eight that will be rolled out within the next week or so.

"I think we've got a deal. We've got to write the legislation, but 2013, I hope, will be the year that we pass bipartisan immigration reform," the South Carolina Republican said on CNN's State of the Union.

The bill would prevent a third wave of illegal immigration into the U.S., allow a guest worker program is available to employers who can't find an American worker, and alter the immigration system to make it more merit-based, Graham said.

"It will pass the House because it secures our borders, it controls who gets a job... [and] the 11 million [undocumented immigrations] will have a pathway to citizenship, but it will be earned, it will be long, and it will be hard," Graham said.